id Software unveils next-generation 3D engine

At this year's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), John Carmack, the man responsible for developing the 3D engines that powered both Doom and Quake, unveiled id Software’s latest 3D game engine dubbed "id Tech 5", promising vast outdoor landscapes that are completely unique to the horizon, yet have indoor environments with unprecedented artistic detail.

“So the last couple of years at id we've been working in secrecy on next-gen tech and a game for it. This is the first time we're showing anything we've done on it publicly." id Tech 5. "What we've got here is the entire world with unique textures, 20GB of textures covering this track. They can go in and look at the world and, say, change the color of the mountaintop, or carve their name into the rock. They can change as much as they want on surfaces with no impact on the game.”The engine, first shown on a Mac, will also support the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 console platforms as well as the PC, and will be available for licensing to developers and publishers. ID Software said it plans to show off the completed project in July at the E3 conference.